Ulster Project builds U.S.-Irish connections

Saturday

This year's group consists of eight teens from Belfast and two adult counselors.

CANTON TWP. As they prepared to go swimming last week to beat the heat, a group of Irish teens snacked on Mexican nachos at the home of their American host, Linda Reibenstein.

They're here under the auspices of the Ulster Project, an outreach designed to build bridges of understanding between Protestant and Catholic kids who live in Northern Ireland, while giving them a taste of American life.

The project has struggled in recent years for a lack of host families. Reibenstein, co-chair of the Ulster Project of Massillon and Canton, said she's trying to change that by making more people aware of the program, which began in 1975.

Reibenstein's family became involved after her daughter, Tori, heard an Ulster Project presentation at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Canton.

"She came home and said it was something we needed to do, and that we should cancel our vacation and do it," she recalled with a laugh. "And so we canceled our vacation and did it. We've been doing it for five years."

This year's group consists of eight teens from Belfast and two adult counselors. Each visitor is paired with a local teen, usually from the host family.

"It's changed our lives a lot," Reibenstein said. "Not only do I have them here in July, a former student has returned to visit. She's interested in the medical field, so she's shadowing a doctor at the Crystal Clinic."

Different people

Reibenstein's daughter traveled to Belfast in 2016.

"They took her in like she was their own," her mother said.

The experience changes the Belfast participants' lives, too.

"It changes a lot of kids' personalities," she said. "By the end of the project, they're a different person."

During their five-week visit, the teens are busy with recreational activities to a variety of community service projects and weekly "Time of Discovery" discussions and presentations.

They also get to learn more about one another's respective faiths by visiting local Catholic and Protestant churches.

Sian McGinn, a 15-year-old, has been to the U.S before: Disney World.

"I heard about the project and thought it would be a good thing to do," she said, adding that she's gained new, close friends.

"Look, I have a Catholic bracelet," she said.

On June 29, the teens attended an Akron RubberDucks baseball game. A smiling McGinn admitted she couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Later this month, the teens will take part in an "Ulster Project Game Day" with groups from Alliance and Mahoning County,

'The Troubles'

On this particular day, though the nearby pool beckoned, the teens listened politely as Sister Martha Cadden and Sister Mary Babik, members of the Company of Divine Sisters and the House of Loreto in Canton, gave a presentation on the fundamentals of Catholicism.

"What a wonderful opportunity for them to do all kinds of activities, and see how we (Americans) live," Cadden said.

The conflict that has roiled and plagued Northern Ireland for decades runs deep. From 1968 to 1989, a civil war known as The Troubles, tore the region apart with numerous bombings, arrests and deaths.

On one side, people (mostly Protestants) wanted Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom. The other side (mostly Roman Catholic nationalists) pushed for a united and independent Ireland.

More than 3,500 people died in the fighting. A cease-fire treaty took effect on Good Friday 1989, with help from then-President Bill Clinton.

However, Northern Ireland remains rigidly segregated by faith.

"It's still very much divided," Reibenstein said.

Jade Smith, 15, said she was well aware of the Ulster Project.

"My brother did it," she said.

Smith, a Protestant, said she's enjoying Ohio's hot weather and is looking forward to their upcoming visit to Cedar Point.

"And I like Walmart," she said.

Other planned trips include bus trips to New York City, Niagara Falls and a picnic at Wingfoot Park in Suffield Township.

A chance to bond

Reibenstein said they conduct fundraisers throughout the year, and the cost of hosting the teens is split with the Ulster Project in Belfast. They most recently raised $360 through a car wash.

Locally, there also are Ulster Projects in Alliance and Mahoning Valley. Ulster Projects also are underway in several other states.

Of the Catholics teens she's met, Smith said, "I like them."

Reibenstein, a real estate agent by profession, said the Ulster Project has become her true passion.

"I think it's a great opportunity to help them and get them to bond," she said. "Just to meet the kids and help them learn things that they can take back with them to Northern Ireland. For me, I know I've done a good job when they come back to visit me."